International Organization for Migration

SHIPSHAPE: Workmen painted and repaired the Royal Yacht Britannia in a dry dock at Forth Ports on Friday in Edinburgh, Scotland. The yacht has been power washed to remove barnacles and is currently getting three coats of paint that will protect it for years to come. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

DEVOTION: Hindu pilgrims took a dip at the confluence of the Ganges River and the Bay of Bengal at Sagar Island, south of Kolkata, on Friday. Hindu monks and pilgrims are making an annual trip to Sagar Island for the one-day festival of Makar Sankranti. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

AWAITING EVICTION: Residents of the Pinheirinho slum in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, stood ready to defend their neighborhood from police they expected to arrive with a court order to evict them on Friday. (Marcelo Alves/Reuters)

POLIO FREE: Babloo, a 14-year old Indian boy affected by polio, waited to get his brace at the Delhi Council for Child Welfare Orthopedics center in New Delhi on Friday. India marked a year since its last case of polio Friday. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images)

READY TO RIDE: Indian soldiers trained on stunt motorcycles in preparation for an upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi Friday. Republic Day is Jan. 26. (Kevin Frayer/Associated Press)

MOURNING A STATESMAN: Firefighters unfurled a large American flag outside St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany, N.J., before the funeral of Assemblyman Alex DeCroce on Friday. Mr. DeCroce, 75, the top Republican in the state Assembly, died Monday night. (Mel Evans/Associated Press)

HELP ON THE WAY: Victims of ethnic violence in Jonglei, South Sudan, waited for emergency food rations at the World Food Program distribution center in Pibor. The International Organization for Migration said Friday that a convoy of four trucks carrying supplies is en route to Pibor. (Michael Onyiego/Associated Press)

Their homelands are torn by war, economic distress, political strife, or environmental collapse. They choose to leave, or have no choice. They're called migrants, refugees, or internally displaced people. The labels are inadequate as often circumstances could allow all three descriptions, or some combination of them. Once in their new countries, they face difficult transitions, discrimination, or outright hostility. Host countries are burdened with the economic and political repercussions of the arrivals, while home nations are sometimes saddled with a "brain drain" of their most important human resources. Immigration is a hot-button issue in the American presidential race, and a wave of new arrivals from Libya to Italy has left the European Union struggling with decisions over the Schengen policy of borderless travel between member nations. Gathered here are images of some of the estimated 214 million people worldwide in the process of redefining what "home" means to them. -- Lane Turner (47 photos total)Rescuers help people in the sea after a boat carrying some 250 migrants crashed into rocks as they tried to enter the port of Pantelleria, an island off the southern coast of Italy, on April 13. Italy is struggling to cope with a mass influx of immigrants from north Africa, many of whom risk their lives by sailing across the often stormy Meditteranean in makeshift vessels. (Francesco Malavolta/AFP/Getty Images)

As militiamen and mercenaries loyal to Moammar Khadafy ferociously strike back at rebels in and around the Libyan capital of Tripoli, much of the rest of the nation is embracing a bracing reality: After 41 years of ruthless and total control by Khadafy, they are suddenly free to rule themselves. In Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city and the cradle of the revolt, chants of jubilation are interspersed with quiet meetings. Neighborhood leaders are working to figure out such tasks as how to direct traffic and ensure utilities are up and running as they craft a plan for the future of the city. For guest workers and other expatriates, the future is no longer Libya. By the tens of thousands, they have been attempting to flee the violence, massing at ports as they await ships, overrunning the main airport,, and crossing by any means possible into Tunisia. Here's a look at one day -- Thursday -- in the life of those parts of Libya under rebel control. -- Paula Nelson (33 photos total)Exclamations of joy fill the air as residents of Benghazi find themselves in an unimaginable situation: Freed from Moammar Khadafy's rule for the first time in more than four decades. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)